Begonia flower:Tell us what, what in the world,Are those leaves thinking?

Haiku written on a painting of a dragonfly and begoniaby Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858)

Begonias are a superb family of plants numbering around 1,000 species (many from tropical South America), and with around 10,000 hybrids. There are trailing plants with fiery red flowers from Bolivia; plants with brocade-like leaves from the Himalayan foothills; and even a stately "hollyhock" begonia with fragrant pink flowers from Mexico.

The species above that I painted (Begonia Evansiana) is native to China and arrived in Japan around 1650. Its small, shell-pink flowers hang down from slender red stems, and this accounts for its Japanese name, shukaido, which literally means "autumn crab-apple flower."

Tuberous begonias such as this are popular with gardeners in temperate parts of the world since they can overwinter. Shorter days make the plants dormant, and they survive as tubers to flourish again the following year. Some tuberous varieties produce large and spectacular flowers. The seed is as fine as dust and my father, who is crazy about begonias, crosses one plant with another, collects the seed, and then grows hundreds of new plants to see how the offspring will turn out.

quoteThe City of Ballarat has been growing begonias since 1898 and now have 221 different varieties of tuberous begonias Begonia Tuberhybrida.These begonias resulted from the hybridisation of just three South American species - B.pearcei, B.boliviensis and B.cinnabarina. Begonia petals are edible; they have a fruity acidic flavour and can be used in salads.

Tuberous begonias don't like frost, nor humidity and are best grown in temperatures between 15 and 27. Suitable climates include Tasmania, south-eastern Australia, along the New South Wales coast and in higher altitudes of New South Wales.

Each plant produces three flowers, including a male flower, and on either side female flowers. The latter are removed so the male flower gives a much finer display. Tuberous begonias are dormant for about eight weeks in winter but in September new shoots will develop and the plant continues its growth cycle.The begonia festival in Ballarat is on until the 14th of March.source : John Patrick, 2005

*****************************Things found on the way

Women Zen Masters

A haiku inscribed on a painting called DRAGONFLY AND BEGONIA (Shukaido ni Tombo) by Hiroshige (1797-1858) says:

"Begonia flower -- tell us what, what in the world are those leaves thinking?"